The Buffalo Bills are coming off an embarrassing showing in a 38-0 rout at the hands of the Chicago Bears last Sunday night. Some of the Bills’ rookies were given extra playing time and reps within the blowout as the team scratched and clawed for positives to take from the performance.
Let’s talk about who showed out on Sunday night amongst the 2025 rookie class and who still has plenty more to prove heading into the team’s regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
CB Maxwell Hairston
The Bills’ first-round
selection is still nursing an LCL injury he picked up in practice before getting his first game action. The news was initially sighs of relief due to the non-severe nature of a knee ligament injury, but the timeline for his return still feels up in the air.
Head coach Sean McDermott stated in his pre-practice presser on Tuesday that Hairston was making progress, but he was still “a ways away” from a return. Hairston’s appearance on the field prior to the season opener seems questionable at best at the moment. He continues to lose valuable practice reps.
DT T.J. Sanders
Buffalo’s second-round selection had some disappointing reps as a run blocker early in the game as Chicago’s first-team offense marched down the field. That led to Sanders getting added run later in the game as clearly McDermott didn’t love what he was seeing from the young defensive tackle early on.
Luckily, Sanders flashed some of his play-making and athletic ability as the game went on. He had an impressive rep against the Bears’ first-team offense as highlighted below. Sanders still has work to do to hold his ground as a run defender, but the flashes he’s shown with some dominant wins have been encouraging.
DE Landon Jackson
Jackson rightfully caught some flack for his Week 1 preseason performance against the Giants, but I thought he did some nice things against the Bears. He had multiple near-sack opportunities. A slightly quicker shed or better coverage on the back end to hold up their end could have allowed him a better box score number.
Jackson did a nice job displaying his length and using his arms/hands to his advantage against the left side of Chicago’s offensive line. He’s not a bender, but the hand usage and closing speed is definitely there. He may have been the best overall performer of any rookie defensive lineman on the team.
DT Deone Walker
Walker’s mass of humanity has carried over into the NFL; he’s simply a gargantuan human even for professional football standards. It’s hard to miss Walker on the field on the television copy, and he’s shown off several dominant reps over the first couple of weeks in preseason.
Similar to Sanders, the run defense is a work in progress for Walker. You would think Walker’s natural fit from a size standpoint would be at the one-technique in the Bills’ even front, but the reality is that his run defense leaves a good bit to be desired due to his narrow lower half.
There’s no doubting Walker has stopping power in his hands and size that you simply can’t teach. Even if he’s just a bull in a china shop as a rookie, the Bills will take that havoc come playoff time.
DB Jordan Hancock
The Bills’ positionless draft selection in Hancock appears to have found a permanent home at safety for Buffalo’s defense. Of course, his history at Ohio State still presents the possibility that he can fill in at the slot/nickel if necessary to spell cornerback Taron Johnson.
Hancock continues to be a bright spot for the Bills’ deep depth through two game performances. He may even push to start at some point across from Taylor Rapp amidst the struggles of Cole Bishop. Certainly the team will allow Bishop to fail before that happens, but he may be tracking as the third safety on this roster with the severe athletic limitations for Damar Hamlin.
Once again, Hancock’s aggressiveness in run support showed up with a couple of stops at (or near) the line of scrimmage. He did miss out on a pass breakup at the goal line as the ball sailed over his head for a score. Hancock was positioned well, but failed to affect the ball while the man corner lost his rep to the corner of the end zone.
Hancock was also injured in this game with what was deemed a shoulder injury after a heavy collision in the intermediate area after a short Bears reception. McDermott said that Hancock could miss the preseason finale this weekend due to the injury, but there wasn’t much more added to that. There’s a chance Hancock starts games at safety in 2025 as long as the shoulder injury isn’t deemed serious.
TE Jackson Hawes
The college profile represents Hawes well as he transitions into the NFL. But there’s a reason the team got to pick him in the middle of Day 3. He’s not much in the pass-catching department and the overall athleticism certainly doesn’t blow you away.
Hawes is a nasty blocker as a throwback Y-tight end. He will almost exclusively be used in-line in the NFL with the ability and upside to be a true road-grading tight end. The Bills already boasted a heck of a jumbo package in 2024 that including Alec Anderson as the pseudo tight end.
The addition of Hawes adds to that element with a legitimate tight end body who, at the minimum, has to be respected as a possible pass catcher when on the field. Hawes may not play a ton of snaps in 2025, but he will almost certainly have a key role in keeping Josh Allen and James Cook upright.
CB Dorian Strong
The early word has been that Dorian Strong was punching above his weight in terms of draft capital (sixth-round pick) used to select him. However, two games of preseason games have not fared well for him.
He’s struggled in run defense Sunday. He also gave up a lot of space to wide receiver Rome Odunze and others. He may still make the roster, but it appears some of the luster and hype from early in camp has worn off a bit. Strong will need a good showing this weekend to cement his status on the roster.
OL Chase Lundt
Lundt got work at both left guard and right tackle on Sunday. He struggled with anchor, losing a rep on the interior that led to a sack. Some of the question with Lundt had to do with anchor ability and how he handled power coming out of college. That showed up on Sunday.
If Lundt is going to survive in the NFL, it may have to come outside at tackle despite less-than-ideal arm length. Lundt has had bright moments in camp, including a good performance in Week 1 of preseason.
WR Kaden Prather
Prather had a tough path to making the roster in 2025. He was cut on Tuesday after appearing suffering an injury in Sunday’s game. Prather may revert to Injured Reserve or be waived with an injury settlement. That remains to be seen at this time. Prather won’t factor into the team’s plans from an active roster standpoint this season.
